Power equipment for grass and weed control has long been available. Lawn mowers in particular have evolved from push mowers to walk-behind power mowers for smaller plots of land and riding mowers for larger plots of land. The lawn mower, regardless of type, adequately cuts nearly all grass and weeds on any land plot. However, they are not able to neatly cut along an edge of a sidewall, driveway, fence, tree, flower bed, etc. for a well manicured lawn appearance.
For the homeowner or other person responsible for maintenance of the land, it is desirable and, some would say, necessary to use an edger or trimmer. Edgers and trimmers are power driven and greatly ease the job of edging and trimming. They do require separate operations which are time consuming. Furthermore, specialized lawn equipment of this nature is costly and requires storage space.
There have been numerous attempts by others to modify a lawn mower with a power edger and/or trimmer. The attempts have been made on walk-behind lawn mowers as well as riding lawn mowers. Feasible equipment of this nature would be welcomed by many homeowners, commercial landscapers, and municipal workers responsible for maintaining roadway areas and other public lands such as parks.
Despite a need for a walk-behind or riding mower with the capability to also perform an edging and/or trimming operation, no truly feasible mower is known to exist. Walk-behind mowers with an edging and trimming feature are known as evidenced by the disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,159,803, 7,165,383B1, and 7,658,057B1. The motor which drives the main grass cutting blades of the lawn mower is also used to drive a separate edger/trimmer unit mounted on a deck of the mower. This requires added belts and drive shafts. The initial cost of the lawn mower necessarily must be greater and, most troubling, is the greatly increased likelihood of equipment failure.
Riding mowers with edger and trimmer features are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,032,443, 6,779,325B1, 6,986,238B1, 7,165,382B2, and 7,549,278 all describe such mowers. The riding mowers of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,032,443 and 6,986,238B1 have been modified simply to allow what appears to be a conventional edger or trimmer to be mounted on the mower. As such, they can be operated independently of the mower's cutting. The cost is additive and the edger and trimmer appear to be awkward to use. The riding mowers of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,779,325B1, 7,165,382B2 and 7,549,278B2 have edger and trimmer units mounted to each mower's deck and are powered by such mower's main power take-off. They appear convenient to use, but would seem to be prone to break-down. Changing a riding mower's drive belt is arduous enough as it is without having to also contend with a separately mounted drive belt for the edger/trimmer.
It is quite apparent that others have long ago recognized the of one piece of lawn care equipment which will mow, edge and trim. Many attempts have been made to fill a long recognized need. To a very limited extent, the need has been met. What has not been developed to date is unitary lawn care equipment which not only mows, edges, and trims, but does so without an inordinate added cost and without costly repairs.
There has now been developed an edger and trimmer designed to be mounted on a mower deck of a riding mower. The edger/trimmer is battery powered. No separate drive belt is needed. It is easily manually moved from an out of the way rest position to either an edging position or a trimming position. The edger/trimmer of the invention provides a very practical solution to a long standing and well recognized need.